Here's The 'Most Dangerous City' In Virginia

VIRGINIA — Petersburg has been dubbed the "most dangerous city" in Virginia. That's according to the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St., which dug into FBI data from 2017 to determine violent crime rates in nearly 2,000 cities and towns.

Here's what the analysis revealed about Petersburg, which is just south of Richmond on Interstate 95:

• 2017 violent crimes per 100,000 people: 794 (state: 208)
• Number of violent crimes in 2017: 252 (1.4% of state total)
• Poverty rate: 27.6% (state: 11.2%)
• Annual unemployment: 6.1% (state: 3.0%)

"While the relationship between crime and economic conditions is complicated, some evidence suggests that there is a direct connection between unemployment and crime," the website says. "Petersburg, Virginia’s most violent major city, has an annual unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, well above the national 2018 rate of 3.9 percent, and the highest jobless rate among Virginia’s 24 cities with a population of 20,000 or more."

In 2017, the FBI estimated there were more than 1.2 million violent crimes nationwide and an estimated 382.9 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. The overall number of violent crimes was down 0.2 percent from 2016, while the overall rate fell 0.9 percent.

When considering five-year trends, the 2017 estimate of total violent crimes in the U.S. is actually 6.8 percent higher than 2013, according to the FBI. Despite the increase, it was 10.6 percent lower than 2008.

The 24/7 Wall St. rankings limited the study to cities with populations of at least 20,000. The authors noted that crime happens more often in low-income areas with fewer economic opportunities.

"The vast majority of cities on this list have higher poverty and unemployment rates than the state as a whole," the report said.

Violent crimes include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Most states contain at least one city that has a higher violent crime rate than the country as a whole. Exceptions include Hawaii, Maine and Vermont.

SEE ALSO:

• These Are The Safest Towns In Virginia For 2019: New List
• Alexandria Named Safest City In U.S.

Most of the cities on the list saw violent crime rates in the hundreds or mid-1000s. But some stuck out. Anniston, Alabama, for example, sees an inordinately high rate of violent crime at 3,434 per 100,000 people. That's the highest rate in the state or any major American city "by far," the authors wrote.

A large share of residents in Anniston are financially insecure with 20 percent of the city's 22,000 residents living below the poverty line. The national rate is 14.6 percent.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.